As 2009 comes to an end it’s a good idea to review the CMHC Rental Market Report to see what’s happened for the tail end of the year. Here are the highlights.

Vacancy Rate:

• In Ocober 2009 the vacancy rate for the Saint John Area rose to 3.6% from 3.1% last year.
• In Saint John City Proper, three of the four zones had a year over year increase. The uptown core remained the same at 3.3%, West Saint John up to 2.7, North Saint John up to 3.3% and East Saint John with the highest rate up to 6.3%. The outlying areas was up to 1.9%
• Although the vacancy rate rose this year, it’s the second lowest since 2000.
• National vacancy rate increased in October 2009 (Saint John 3.6, Edmonton 4.5, Toronto 3.1, Vancouver 2.1, Calgary 5.3)

Average Rent:

• The average rent was up by 4.2%, with the average rent at $613/month
• The average rent for the popular 2 bedroom apartments was up at 4.5% at $644/month

For full details download the pdf below, or visit www.cmhc.ca and subscribe.

Download (PDF, 2.14MB)

Below is our online presentation. To navigate from slide to slide, just click anywhere on the slide. To view full screen, press the full screen button (located in the bottom right hand corner of the player).

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A Saint John Landlord was fined the minimum fine of $1000 after only 20 of his 50 work orders were completed after a second inspection 7 months after the city issued the work orders. The landlord now has until December 21 to complete the rest of his work orders.

Full Story @ CanadaEast.com

It’s important to take work orders by the city serious. If you keep up with your ongoing maintenance, then you wont be left with a large list of repairs to make at the last minute. Should the city issue you work orders on your property, be sure you promptly start the work and keep in touch with the city to make sure everyone is on the same page. Not everything can be done at once, but it’s important to have a reasonable time frame to complete the work.

Water issues are a fact of home ownership. There are two types of water issues we can talk about, problems with drinking water and water coming into the home. Today I’m only going to touch on water coming into the home.

For anyone buying a home, water and moisture problems are often one of the biggest (scariest) issues. Nobody wants to buy a home that has water problems or past water problems that haven’t been resolved. When buying a home it’s important to request a Property Condition Statement. A PCS is a two page questionnaire that’s often filled out by home owners when selling their home. In the PCS there is a question regarding water and moisture problems. It’s a requirement for the Vendor’s to disclose any known issues addressed on this form. The owner can only disclose what they know.

If you get back a PCS and there is an indication that there was a water or moisture problem in the home, you’ll want to find out some more information about the problem. Just because there was a problem at one time, doesn’t mean that there still is. Many real estate companies have a Schedule “A” that they’ll have the Vendor fill out, but here is a list of what you want to find out.

• Is there still a water/moisture problem?
• When is the last time the problem occurred?
• What is the frequency of the problem?
• If it was resolved, who completed the work and what did they do?

These four questions will help you to find out if there there will be problems down the road. Take steps to verify that work has been done and done properly. If the water or moisture problem hasn’t been resolved, have a reputable contractor prepare an estimate to correct the problem. Once you’re armed with an estimate, ask your agent to help you negotiate to either have the problem fixed, or to be compensated for it (and fix it your self).

If you’re selling a home with a water or moisture problem, the best thing to do is to get it fixed…fast! The longer water and moisture gets into your home the more complications you may encounter. When words like mold and mildew pop up, it could significantly hurt the sale of your home. Hire a professional to give you direction on what needs to be done, as well as a quote. If you’re not in a position to have the work completed, be sure to disclose the problem, present the solution as recommended by your professional and factor that cost into your list price.

I hope that this has been helpful, stay tuned for more information for home owners and investors alike.

Luther Harrity, REALTOR®

Royal LePage Atlantic

Lily Lake Pavilion (7 Sept 2009)

Rockwood Park is located in the heart of Saint John, New Brunswick. I remember reading somewhere that Rockwood Park is one of Canada’s largest urban parks. I don’t remember where but I found the same information on Wikipedia. The park on Saint John’s North End takes up about 800 hectares and is covered with trails, mixed forrest, lakes and caves. Every summer the park comes alive with people walking, and ongoing summer activities. Through the winter you can find people braving the snow and cold to feed the ducks, take a hike, or do some cross country skiing.

The park includes two beaches, easy to to walk trails, and several on site facilities. Facilities include a campgroung (both tenting and trailer hookups), Barn, Interpretation Center and Lily Lake Pavilion. The Lily Lake Pavilion features the Lily’s Cafe, Day Tripping (they rent Kayaks, Canoes, Paddle Boats, Bikes, Skis, Snow Shoes & More), locker rooms, and features a large room that hosts conferences and weddings almost daily.

Recently there has been several renovations to the park entrance and trail system along one side of Lily Lake. These improvements have been a great addition to the park and we look forward to more and more people coming out to enjoy nature in the city.

Saint John Community Garden

If you’re visiting be sure to stop by Rockwood Park to explore all it has to offer! If you like golf, check out what the Rockwood Park Golf Course has to offer.

Across the street from the main entrance to the park is the community garden. Please excuse the quality of the pictures as I took them with my trusty Blackberry.

I took both of these pictures today during my morning walk around Lily Lake.